• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.298-308
• /
• 2013

The elderly population in Korea is rapidly growing. As the population ages, meals become a greater concern, as physical and psychological health problems are directly affected by dietary life, especially for the lower-income elderly. Although the government provides support through a free congregate meal service, there is a lack of systematic management of this meal service. This study investigates the experience of the elderly, especially the symbolic meaning and issues regarding the congregate meal service in their dietary life, to establish strategies for improving congregate meal services. Qualitative data was collected from ten elderly receivers of meal services through in-depth interviews and data was analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenological research methods. Overall, 90 significant statements, 13 formulated meanings, and five theme clusters were deduced. The five theme clusters for the importance of meal services to the elderly included the followings: "a real meal", "enjoyment of living", "maintenance of regular life", "place for social life" and "meal of silence". We found that the elderly regarded the congregate free meal service not only as meals to appreciate but also as a form of social life. Furthermore, the elderly did not typically express any complaints regarding congregate meal services because they are free. The results showed that it might be difficult to evaluate the quality of meal services based on the opinions of the service receivers. This study suggests it is necessary to develop multilateral evaluation methods to reflect the needs of the elderly and to improve the congregate meal services at elderly welfare centers.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.139-161
• /
• 2015

The number of Healthy Family Support Centers has increased and the services for enhancement of family strength have extended during the past ten years since the Framework Act on Healthy Families was enacted. It is time to pay attention to the empowerment for Healthy Family Specialist because their capability is directly linked to improve the quality of services, which means the satisfaction of family services and the quality of family policy. In this context, this study investigate organizational experience of Healthy Family Specialists and suggest the empowerment plan to enhance their capability. We conducted in-depth interviews for 9 Healthy Family Specialists who is currently working at Healthy Family Support Centers as a manager status during June 2014. We analyzed organizational experiences through job commitment and job satisfaction and empowerment plans through their strength and weakness. Our findings revealed that job commitment and job satisfaction of Healthy Family Specialist are relatively low due to a poor working condition and a low brand awareness. Also, the capability of Healthy Family Specialists is an important factor to determine their job commitment and job satisfaction, and it can impact on the long service. These results suggest that the payroll system, increment of salary, career recognition, employee benefit, systematic operation, and motivation are needed to improve their job satisfaction. There are various ways to improve professional capability of Healthy Family Specialists besides education program. This study contributes to make the plan of empowerment for Healthy Family Specialists and it also contributes to improve the service quality of family policy.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.5-33
• /
• 2018

A self-sufficiency service has worked as a typical workfare policy combined with public assistance in Korea since 2000. Despite of its long history, three core pillars in administrating the self-sufficiency service, policy, research, and practice, have respectively understood the meaning of self-sufficiency in terms of their own interests. As a result, the self-sufficiency service has recently faced with its own identity issues by showing failures to its environmental changes. The current situation makes it necessary to reconceptualize the definition of self-sufficiency by exploring its in-depth understanding perceived by service providers. Specifically, we analyzed practical reflections on 35 service providers' experiences which were collected via focus group interviews for two hours. The study findings presented that service providers had two antithetical approaches towards self-sufficiency. While a dominant approach to self-sufficiency has been concentrated on improving clients' economic outcomes such as employment, job retention, the escape from welfare trap, and increasing earnings and assets, the other approach has been extended to empower clients and achieve their well-being and quality of life. Yet, these contrary perspectives have led to suffer from their role confusions and identity crisis between the work-ready process and the employment-oriented outcomes. Specifically, they described self-sufficiency in terms of psychological, social, and integrated aspects. The psychological aspect included a process of developing inner strengths, intensifying job motivation, and coping with barriers of employment. The social aspect meant a path toward social integration through recovering human relationships. The integrated aspect covered more comprehensive support for their recovery of daily life and autonomy to make a decision for their own life. In conclusion, the study findings suggest that self-sufficiency should be more extensively considered as a stepwise process towards work-ready preparations beyond ultimate economic outcomes. Such an extended concept of self-sufficiency could contribute to restructuring the whole practice of self-sufficiency including organizational and program changes in the fields.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.79-105
• /
• 2011

In-depth interview research and qualitative methodology were used to find changes in the experiences of family volunteer activities through the use of the Health Family Support Center. Ultimately, 143 items as sub-concepts, 42 items as sub-categories, and 10 items as subjects were found. I will also suggest alternative basic and primary data. First, using 10 subjects, the following points were evaluated in detail. I looked at what kind of changes in the volunteer activities these subjects experienced after working at the Health Family Support Center, and what the specific underlying reasons were for the changes in their family volunteer experience. These included 'community solidarity', 'family community', 'leisure and culture for the family', 'communication', 'personal relations', 'coping skills', 'growth', 'sympathy', 'positive thinking', 'future plans'. Second, families experienced a feeling of belonging as community members and the family realized the importance of their life, learned communication methods and coping skills. Third, families came to have new opportunities to grow as humans and learned a feeling of sympathy for others. Fourth, families found new paradigms to think positively about their daily life and to establish future plans. We will need more effort to empower family experiences of family volunteer activities that use the Health Family Support Center as well as supporting its staff. The following specific factors were the main mediating factors for using such a facility: family volunteer education, family volunteer service agency consulting, program planning, and managing family volunteers and other services.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
• /
• v.18 no.8
• /
• pp.1567-1576
• /
• 2017

This study presented the direction of cultural welfare based on ICT. For this purpose, it examined the direction of government policies and the status of cultural welfare services and it analyzed art galleries and museums focusing on experiences of cultural welfare services in a home and abroad. As a result, the museum has many changes depending on the media environment, unlike art gallery. In the age of media 1.0, the audience has experienced in real museums. As time goes by, in the age of media 2.0, the customer has opportunity to experience in virtual museums. It seems that there are many differences factor of a media environment, target (exhibits), accessibility, consumption and information. Finally, this study suggested the environmental change factors of Korean ICT cultural welfare service through this. In the future, it will be necessary to continue research on the possibility of expanding cultural welfare services for cultural enjoyment to the underprivileged.

• Journal of Venture Innovation
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.57-79
• /
• 2019

We have been experiencing an lengthened life expectancy due to rapid industrialization, economic and medical development. In particular, the elderly population was only 5.1% of the total population in 1900s when the senior centers were established, but 30 years later, the elderly population aged 65 or older reached 6.54 million in 2015 and became 14% in 2017. There is a very meaningful correlation between service quality of the senior welfare center and the life satisfaction of the elderly, where the elderly spend their leisure time on a daily basis. Accordingly, this study tried to identify the desirable conditions that the elderly think and the difference from the desired status and the actual status to identify what information and services should be provided by senior welfare centers. Gwanak Senior Welfare Center has provided senior welfare service for local seniors for 30 years since its establishment and contributed to silver welfare policy establishment based on the accumulated experiences. In the coming era of GDP 30,000 dollars, National Pension era and average life span 100 years, the new creative silver welfare programs should be introduced such as qualitative programs rather than quantitative, programs for caring minorities, complimentary or actual expense programs, creative programs rather than passive ones, and diversity of the subjects. This study would like to present the future direction for the next 30 years.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.1297-1315
• /
• 2008

Elderly males in retirement experiencing a change in their social status and role in the family are likely to develop negative perception toward the elderly and the elderly life. The purpose of this study is to examine how the experiences of age discrimination affect elderly male's perception and his attitude towards the elderly life, and to verify the mediation effects of the family and peer relations, which would necessitate the need for social welfare intervention. 215 participants, the elderly men registered at the welfare centers in Seoul Metropolitan area, participated in this research utilizing the structural equation modeling to verify the mediation effect. The findings are as follows. First, the elderly males's experiences of age discrimination is found not to have a significant effect on their perception towards the elderly. Second, the elderly males' discrimination experience has a significant effect on their attitude towards the elderly life. Third, it is found out that family function and peer relationship has complete mediation effect on the perception on the elderly experiencing discrimination in their perception towards the elderly life. Fourth, the family function and peer relationship has partial mediation effect on the elderly male experiencing discrimination in their attitude toward their life after retirement. This shows that more efforts are needed to reduce discrimination towards the elderly, and that strong family function and peer relations help the elderly to develop more positive perception and attitude towards the elderly life. In conclusion, it proposes an institutional approach towards the problem as well as increased support for elderly welfare service including family counseling intended to strengthen family function and alternative family, and more active social activities aimed at strengthening of peer relationship.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.8 no.6
• /
• pp.265-271
• /
• 2018

Recently, rights advocacy in disabled welfare centers is one of the most important estimation and also transition of paradigm. However it is difficult to define rights advocacy specifically, so each disabled welfare center goes to conceptualize rights advocacy based on practical experiences. Study of practical recognition of the advocacy rights of social workers in disabled welfare centers provides greater foundation to establishing specific concept and direction of rights advocacy. Method of this research is analysis of metaphors, figuring out concepts and perception of social workers through survey. Analysis of metaphors is a method of analyzing a person's perception in specific context and situation by providing a concrete explanation of new thing, that is, basis of metaphor and analyzing it later. As a result of this research, it is shown that ideological type(necessary thing) and practical type(being together) are the perceptions about rights advocacy of social workers, and rights advocacy is recognized as 'practical concept' which plan and provide direct service at fields. According to these results, policy and environment should be constructed to provide advocacy services at welfare fields, reflecting these perceptions of social workers. Also this should be reflected on practical fields for them to learn appropriately and practice rights advocacy.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.205-211
• /
• 2021

This study utilizes PhotoVoice, a qualitative research method, to explore the life experiences of retirees by age in depth and derive the social welfare implications required for successful aging of retirees. Two participants in the study were selected in their 70s, 60s, and 50s, and 24 photos, explanations, 44 stories, and 92 data collected through group activities and personal interviews were analyzed. With the perception of successful aging, those in their 70s were "Preparing for a High Level of Social Responsibility and Dignity," those in their 60s were "Life of Social Responsibility and Service with Embarrassment and Boeun," and those in their 50s were "Life of Self-reliance with Economic Stability and Consideration." In order to prevent social problems for retirees with longer old age, research and social welfare policy support for their social jobs and volunteer positions are urgently needed, and the sooner the preparatory education is implemented so that they can prepare enough. This study is significant in that it played an important role in presenting basic data for the preparation of social welfare alternatives for retirees.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.262-274
• /
• 2023

Objectives: This study examined the evaluation and potential improvements of 'Integrated Healthcare and Social Welfare service model' based on the experiences of practitioners from institutions participating in the 'Dalgubeol Health Doctor Services' and the service recipients. Methods: Qualitative research was conducted from September to November 2022 in this study, focusing on 4 providers from the dedicated Dalgubeol Health Doctor Services Team, 5 contact partners from affiliated organizations, and 6 service beneficiaries. The data gathered underwent thematic analysis. Results: The evaluation indicated that Dalgubeol Health Doctor Services has proven to be effective in addressing the complex needs of vulnerable populations. By providing integrated services through quick and simple beneficiary selection and resource linkage, it has contributed to the resolution of complex demands, recovery of positive attitudes towards life, and improvement in quality of life for users who have fear the use of medical and welfare services. Dalgubeol Health Doctor Services has established an integrated health care system involving not only public but also private organizations, from the referral agency to the service provider. Centered around Daegu Medical Center and involving five tertiary hospitals, it has established a model that supports treatment appropriate to the severity of the patient, from mild to severe. Conclusions: These findings indicate an enhancement in health equity, achieved through the active identification and subsequent health and welfare issue resolution of individuals marginalized from medical benefits.